A TEACHER’S Guide TO THE SIGNET CLASSICS EDITION OF
H A R R I E T J AC O B S’s
INCIDENTS IN THE
LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL
by
Meghan M. Manfra
North Carolina State University
S e r i e s
E d i t o r s :
Jeanne M. McGlinn and James E. McGlinn
both at
University of North Carolina AT ASHEVILLE
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction............................................................................................................3
List of Characters....................................................................................................5
Synopsis / Chapter Summaries................................................................................5
Teaching Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl............................................................8
Pre-reading Activities.......................................................................................8
I. Building Background Knowledge..........................................................8
II. Genre Study.......................................................................................15
III. Initial Exploration of Themes...........................................................16
During Reading Activities..............................................................................21
I. Noting Initial Reactions......................................................................21
II. Reader Response................................................................................21
III. Tracing Events and Character Development in the Narrative...........23
IV. Discussion Questions . .....................................................................24
After Reading Activities.................................................................................25
I. Deepening Understanding...................................................................25
II. Discussion Questions.........................................................................26
III. Group and Individual Projects..........................................................28
IV. Extended Reading.............................................................................30
Key Websites..................................................................................................35
References......................................................................................................35
Professional Resources....................................................................................35
About the Author of this Guide............................................................................36
About the Editors of this Guide............................................................................36
Free Teacher’s Guides............................................................................................38
Click on a Classic..................................................................................................39
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A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Introduction
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, written by Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897) using the
pseudonym Linda Brent, is the most widely read female slave narrative in American
history. In her account Jacobs appeals to readers as a woman and mother by detailing the
sexual harassment and abuse she suffered as a female slave in Edenton, NC and her
eventual escape. Ultimately her story is one of triumph and a testament to her spirit.
Overall, this is an important literary and primary source for young readers to better grasp
the many facets of slavery, in particular the female slave experience. It contains many
contradictions to the commonly held assumptions about slavery. Unlike many of her
counterparts, Harriet was not beaten or physically abused. She learned to read and write
and spent the first six years of her life unaware that she was a slave. Her family was very
important to her and she maintained contact throughout her life with her maternal
grandmother and other family members. What makes Jacobs’s story even more
extraordinary were the seven years she spent in hiding (1835 until 1842) and her
successful escape to New York City. After escaping to New York City, Harriet experienced
the anxiety of many escaped slaves living after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law as
she is continually pursued by her former owner.
Jacobs’s narrative is also an excellent resource for teachers in both language arts and social
studies classrooms. Her text captures in vivid detail the experiences of slaves living in the
antebellum South. She uncovers the cruelty of the institution of slavery and the manner
in which it disrupted both black and white lives. Jacobs also points to the victimization
female slaves frequently experienced at the hands of white masters. Her narrative can be
used to teach students a greater understanding of the antebellum period, the experiences
of slavery, and the struggles facing fugitive slaves in the North.
Jacobs’s narrative involves complicated and adult themes about sexuality and gender that
might be inappropriate for younger audiences. Although sexual encounters are alluded to
rather than explicitly described, it is highly recommended that teachers pre-read the
autobiography and perhaps select specific excerpts for students. This guide aims to assist
teachers in planning to teach the narrative for both its literary elements and historical
information. There are suggestions for preparing students to understand the historical
context of the narrative as well as activities to introduce them to the main themes. During
Reading activities are provided to facilitate critical reading of the text. Post-reading
activities encourage students to explore the themes more fully and to engage in projects
which will extend the ideas in the text. Teachers can select from among these activities to
meet curriculum goals and to address the different learning styles of their students.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
List of Characters
Pseudonyms are used throughout the narrative. This List of Characters provides the
names and a brief history of the real persons Harriet Jacobs describes in her narrative.
Linda Brent—Harriet Ann Jacobs (1813-1897), born a slave in Edenton, NC, she
eventually escaped to the North and gained her freedom. She wrote her autobiography
using the pseudonym of Linda Brent in 1861; later she worked as a reformer and activist.
Aunt Martha—Molly Horniblow, Harriet’s grandmother, made a living selling baked
goods to black and white townspeople. She purchased the freedom of her son Phillip and
eventually became free at the age of 50 due to the kindness of an elderly white woman.
Uncle Phillip—Mark Ramsey was Molly Horniblow’s older son.
Aunt Nancy—Betty was Molly Horniblow’s daughter.
Uncle Benjamin—Joseph was Molly Horniblow’s younger son who escaped to Baltimore
after one unsuccessful attempt.
William—John Jacobs, Harriet’s brother, escaped from slavery when his master brought
him North. He worked as a whaler in Boston, lectured for the abolitionist cause in
Rochester, NY, and traveled to California to pan for gold.
Elijah—Daniel Jacobs, Harriet’s father, was the slave of Andrew Knox and a skilled
craftsman, who tried unsuccessfully to buy his family’s freedom. He died in Harriet’s youth.
Delilah—Harriet’s mother and Molly Horniblow’s daughter, was the slave of Margaret
Horniblow. Upon Margaret’s death, Harriet and her brother Phillip were moved into the
household of the Norcoms, and the semblance of normal family life was destroyed.
Miss Fanny—Hannah Pritchard purchased Molly Horniblow’s freedom for $50. Later,
Miss Fanny looked out for Harriet when she lived on James Norcom, Jr.’s plantation.
Dr Flint—Dr. James Norcom was Harriet’s slave master. She entered his household when
Harriet was willed to his step-daughter. According to Harriet he owned a residence in
town, in addition to several farms, and about 50 slaves. He pursued Harriet, after she
escaped, until his death.
Mrs. Flint—Mary Matilda Horniblow Norcom and wife of Dr. James Norcom, was
unable to control her husband. Humiliated by his advances towards Harriet, she directed
abuse at Harriet.
Young Mr. Flint—James Norcom, Jr.
Miss Emily Flint, later Mrs. Dodge—Dr. Norcom’s daughter Mary Matilda Norcom,
later Mrs. Daniel Messmore, traveled to New York with her husband, Messmore, to seize
Harriet and her daughter, after her father’s death.
Mr. Sands—Samuel Treadwell Sawyer was a white, unmarried lawyer and the father of
Harriet’s two children. He was later elected to the United States House of
Representatives.
Benny—Joseph Jacobs (b. 1829) was Harriet’s son with Sawyer.
Ellen—Louisa Matilda Jacobs (c.1833-1913) was Harriet’s daughter with Sawyer.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Mr. & Mrs. Hobbs—James Iredell Tredwell and Mary Bonner Blount Tredwell are
Sawyer’s cousins.
Mr. Thorne—Joseph Blount was Mrs. Tredwell’s brother.
Mr. Bruce—Nathaniel Parker Willis was the head of the family in which Harriet worked
as a nursemaid.
Mrs. Bruce—Mary Stace Willis, Nathaniel Parker Willis’s first wife, helped Harriet flee
to Boston when Dr. Norcom arrived in New York; she died in 1845.
Baby Mary—Imogen Willis was Mary Stace Willis’ daughter. Harriet worked as her
nursemaid and later escorted her on a trip to England.
The second Mrs. Bruce—Cornelia Grinnell Willis was Nathaniel Parker Willis’s second
wife and employer and friend of Harriet. She arranged for the American Colonization
Society to act as an intermediary and in early 1952 bought Jacobs from the Messmores
(Dr. Norcom’s daughter and her husband).
Lydia Maria Child—Child was the white abolitionist editor who helped Harriet publish
her narrative in 1861.
Synopsis / Chapter Summaries
Childhood and Early Adolescence: Facing her Slave Identity Chapters 1-9
Upon her mother’s death, when Harriet was only six years old, she was forced to begin
her service as a slave. Her first mistress treated her kindly; however, the mistress’s “one
great wrong” occurred when, upon her death, she bequeathed Harriet to her five-year-old
niece rather than freeing her. Harriet and her brother William are placed in the Flint
household, along with their “Aunt Nancy.”
Harriet describes the realities of life for slaves including “Hiring day” and the escape of
her Uncle Benjamin from slavery. She suffers mental abuse and sexual harassment from
Dr Flint, and his wife directs her anger and frustration towards Harriet. Harriet’s
grandmother repeatedly tries to buy her freedom to rescue her from the situation.
Harriet meets and falls in love with a young black free man, who wishes to marry her.
Dr. Flint refuses to consent to the marriage, and Harriet convinces her lover to leave the
area and give up the dream of marriage.
Harriet describes the cruel punishment slaves endure at the hands of their owners or their
owners’ neighbors, showing that slavery ruins the lives of both slaves and also slave
owners, their wives, and their children.
Early Adulthood: Taking Control of Her Destiny Chapters 10-16
Harriet decides to give herself willingly to Mr. Sands, a wealthy white man, rather than
unwillingly to her master. Dr. Flint is infuriated when he learns she is pregnant and Harriet’s
grandmother calls her a “disgrace.” Harriet returns to her grandmother’s house although Dr.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Flint vows that Harriet will always be his slave. Harriet gives birth to her son, Benny.
Harriet describes the effects of Nat Turner’s rebellion on the lives of blacks (free and slave)
living in Edenton. (Note: Nat Turner’s rebellion occurred nearby in Southampton
County, VA—about 60 miles north of Edenton). She also explains how the church is an
important part of life for slaves. She tells of a minister who, shortly after Nat Turner’s
rebellion, preaches to slaves about their Christian ethical obligation to be obedient,
hardworking, servants to their masters. Harriet remarks, “There is a great difference
between Christianity and religion at the south.” (p. 82)
At nineteen, Harriet has not returned to her Master’s home since the birth of her first
child. Still Dr. Flint continues to visit her and repeatedly renews his promise to never sell
her or her children. Harriet has a daughter, Louisa, by Mr. Sands and has both of her
children baptized.
Harriet goes to live at Dr. Flint’s son’s plantation where she works long hours and her
daughter suffers from neglect. During this time, Harriet makes plans to escape.
Escape & Hiding Chapters 17-30
Jacobs waits until late in the night, then she sneaks from the plantation house and flees
into town. Dr. Flint flies into a rage and has her grandmother’s house searched from top
to bottom. A constable is set to watch at all times of day and a reward of $300 is set for
Harriet’s return to Dr. Flint.
After a week, the search for Jacobs continues. Harriet’s family members are afraid that she
will be caught until a white neighbor offers to hide Harriet. Harriet spends the next
several months locked in a small chamber above the woman’s own bed chamber. To bring
Harriet back, Dr. Flint has her brother William, her aunt, and her children thrown in
jail. Eventually the family members are freed, and Dr. Flint takes a trip to New York to
look for Harriet.
Upon Dr. Flint’s return, Mr. Sands hires a slave trader to buy Harriet’s children. Due to
his weak finances, Dr. Flint can’t refuse the offer and ultimately decides to sell Harriet’s
brother, William, and her two children to the trader for Mr. Sands.
The search for Harriet intensifies. Finally, she is taken from her hiding place and hidden
in the swamp. Her next hiding place is the small open space hidden between the ceiling
and roof of her grandmother’s shed where she suffers from pest infestation, illness, and
extreme heat.
At Christmas, Harriet is able to make some small gifts for her children. No good
opportunity to escape presents itself, so Harriet is forced to remain hidden in her little
room for another entire year. Harriet becomes very ill during the winter and her
grandmother also takes sick, but eventually both women recover.
Dr. Flint tries unsuccessfully to disrupt Mr. Sands’ election to the U.S. House of
Representatives. Harriet risks everything by slipping into the storage room and calling
out to Mr. Sands as he passes the house to beg him to free her children in case anything
should happen to him during his travels.
Mr. Sands brings William along with him on a trip to Canada and is disappointed when
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
the boy escapes. Mr. Sands returns from the North with a new wife. After meeting Benny
and Ellen, Mrs. Sands and her sister wish to adopt them. Harriet’s grandmother entreats
Mr. Sands to free the children, but he replies that they are free. Ellen is sent to live with
relatives of Mr. Sands in New York. Before Ellen leaves, Harriet insists that she spend at
least a little time with her daughter.
Harriet’s Aunt Nancy passes away, worn down from years of service to Mrs. Flint. Nancy’s
brother, Phillip, pays for the funeral—a privilege he had to request from Dr. Flint—and
Nancy is buried with the rest of her family.
Jacobs spends seven years hidden in her tiny crawl space. By the end of this time the
building is falling apart and she is often soaked by rain storms. Finally, her friend Peter
plans for her to escape by ship. Harriet bids farewell to her family and endures a long
journey by sea to Philadelphia. She is joined by another slave, Fanny. The ship’s captain
and crew turn out to be allies on the journey.
Freedom and Life as a Fugitive Chapters 31-41
Upon her arrival in Philadelphia, the Reverend Jeremiah Durham, an African American,
shelters her. Some of the abolitionists in the city offer to pay Jacobs’s way to New York,
but she refuses, saying that she will rely on the money her grandmother gave her rather
than charity.
Once in New York, Harriet finds her daughter, Ellen, who looks older and “neglected.”
Mr. Sands has not emancipated Ellen as promised. Harriet writes to Dr. Flint offering to
finally buy her freedom but is rejected.
Harriet secures employment as a nursemaid in the house of Mrs. Bruce, an English
expatriate. Mrs. Bruce is very kind to Harriet and she begins to feel “more energetic and
cheerful.” Harriet frequently visits her daughter, and her brother William visits Harriet
and Ellen in New York City.
Warned that Dr. Flint is again heading north to find her, Harriet has her son Benny sent
to her and they travel together to Boston. When Harriet knows that Flint has arrived
back home, she returns to New York and Mrs. Bruce’s employ leaving Benny in the care
of William in Boston.
Harriet travels with the Bruce family to Albany and experiences severe prejudice from
southern tourists and hotel staff. Harriet manages to win the ensuing battle of wills with
resentful white servers and black servants.
Back in New York, Ellen warns Harriet that Dr. Flint knows of her whereabouts. Ellen
travels with her mother to Boston where they are reunited with her brother. Harriet
spends the winter with her children, sharing a house with an old friend.
In the spring, Harriet learns that Mrs. Bruce has passed away, and Mr. Bruce requests that
Harriet accompany his daughter Mary to England to visit relatives. Harriet spends 10
months with Mary in England where for the first time she does not experience racial
discrimination. She notes the “oppression of the poor” in England, but when she
compares this oppression to the state of affairs for slave families, she judges the poor in
England to be much better off.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Upon her return from England, Jacobs learns that Benny is no longer apprenticed to a
tradesman—his master and his fellow apprentices had discovered he was black. Harriet
is saddened that Benny has decided to become a whaler like her brother.
William offers to send Ellen to boarding school. Before Ellen leaves, Harriet wants to tell
her the truth about her father, but it turns out that Ellen already knows her history. While
Ellen is away at school, Harriet and William attempt to run an anti-slavery reading room
in Rochester, NY.
After the failure of their anti-slavery reading room, William decides to go west to
California, and Benny goes with him. Ellen continues to do well at her school, and
Harriet returns to New York as a nursemaid for the Bruce family. However, times are
tense in the city as the Fugitive Slave Law goes into effect. Harriet learns that Dr. Flint
has found out her whereabouts and plans to recapture her. Harriet flees to New England
until she feels safe enough to return to New York.
At last, Harriet learns that Dr. Flint is dead and she is being pursued by his daughter and
her new husband. Again, the second Mrs. Bruce protects her and finds Harriet a safe
place to live. Ultimately, Mrs. Bruce purchases Harriet’s freedom for $300.
Teaching Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Pre-reading Activities
These activities are designed to build students’ background knowledge about slavery and
its impact on blacks and whites as well as to introduce students to themes in Harriet
Jacobs’s autobiography and the impact of this genre. Choose the activities that best fit the
themes you plan to teach or match your goals for students as they read the narrative.
(Note: Consult other Teachers’ Guides to Signet Classics; they contain pre-reading ideas
that can be adapted to this text).
I. Building Background Knowledge
The Historical Setting
Students’ reading of the novel will be enhanced if they review and build upon what they
know about slavery and its impact in 19th century America. One way to prepare students
to seek additional information about these topics is to begin by building a graphic
organizer of what students already know. Here is a list of topics with key information that
you might wish to explore with your students. Begin by putting the main topic in the
center of a circle on the board. Brainstorm with your students what they know about the
topic. List their ideas on lines coming out from the main circle. Then using available
resources in your classroom or media center, ask the students to seek additional information
on specific topics which they can then add to the graphic organizer. You may wish to
transfer this information to a sheet of large newsprint to display throughout the reading of
the text so students can add information to the chart. Throughout this guide is a list of
web resources which you can provide to your students to focus their searches on the web.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Slavery
It is hard to underestimate the impact of slavery on American culture. Only twenty
African slaves were brought to Jamestown colony in 1618 and by the eve of the Civil War
in 1860 almost 4 million slaves lived in the southern United States. Harriet Jacobs’s
narrative is situated within the context of the steady expansion of slavery in the U.S. and
its eventual abolition.
Although slavery grew slowly at first, slavery eventually expanded throughout all of the
American colonies. Its presence was most obvious in the southern colonies, including
Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, where cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice, and
indigo became the major commodities.
For various reasons, slavery did not gain such a footing in the northern colonies. This was
due in part to the economic and geographic differences of the northern colonies—the
region was not suitable for the cultivation of labor intensive crops. Also, the predominance
of religious groups such as the Quakers in Pennsylvania and Puritans in New England, may
have contributed to the relative lack of slavery. By the start of the American Revolution
400,000 slaves were located in southern colonies, compared to 50,000 in northern colonies.
At the Constitutional Convention, slavery was hotly debated. Rather than settle the issue
by abolishing slavery, the Founding Fathers agreed to the 3/5ths Compromise, allowing
slave states to count a portion of their slave population for representation. Slavery
continued to steadily expand in the southern United States after the invention of the
cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793. The value of cotton exports made up an increasingly
larger share of the value of all U.S. exports throughout the 19th century.
Slave Trade
Slaves brought to the Americas from Africa endured a harrowing journey referred to as
the Middle Passage. Almost 20% of the captives died on the journey due to the
horrendous conditions they endured. Most often slaves were first brought to the West
Indies and then North America. In the United States the importation of slavery was
banned in 1808. This did little to stop slavery from growing, however, as slaves were
continually traded and many more were smuggled into the country. The population of
slaves in America grew to around 2 million by 1830.
Plantation Life
The majority of slaves lived on large plantations and most (80-90%) worked in the fields. At
the same time, only a small minority of southern planters owned 20 or more slaves. In the
South wealth was consolidated in the hands of a small minority of white plantation owners.
Cotton cultivation was back-breaking work. Slaves had to endure long hours of work in hot
temperatures, often expected to pick 150-200 pounds of cotton per day. Slaves were
induced to work frequently through the use of draconian punishments, especially whipping.
Slave traders frequently tore slave families apart and slaves had to endure the humiliation
of public auctions. Female slaves frequently suffered sexual abuse. Slaves were not allowed
to marry, attend separate church services, learn to read and write, or own property.
Slave Resistance
Slaves managed to retain some aspects of their culture despite the horrific situations in
which they lived. Music, crafts, storytelling, and familial allegiances endured. Slaves also
10
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
resisted their position of subservience more openly. Some slaves engaged in workplace
sabotage—destroying tools, freeing livestock, staging work slowdowns, and faking illness.
Some slaves pushed their resistance in open rebellion, including the Stono Rebellion
(1739) and Nat Turner’s rebellion (1831). Many more escaped or attempted escape by
running away to Free states in the North. The Underground Railroad was a loose
network of escape routes and safe houses used to ferry slaves out of bondage.
Abolition Movement
Both African Americans and whites publicly criticized slavery in the U.S. The abolition
movement grew increasingly organized and active in the 1800s. Some of the most wellknown abolitionists include William Lloyd Garrison, David Walker, Frederick Douglass,
Sara and Angela Grimke, and Lucretia Mott. They were joined by throngs of men and
women, religious groups, and social activists in their call for the abolition of slavery and
the emancipation of slaves.
Fugitive Slave Act/Law
As the institution of slavery grew, harsh slave codes were enacted and refined throughout
the South. These codes restricted slave activities and meted out strict punishments, often
whipping. Attempting to shore up slavery and in response to congressional limits on
slavery in new territories, southern legislators fought for the inclusion of the Fugitive
Slave Law as part of the Compromise of 1850. Under the law, alleged fugitives would be
returned to slavery on the basis of a statement by the slave owner. They were not allowed
to a trial by jury, the right to counsel, or to testify on their own behalf. At the same time,
anyone who harbored a fugitive faced harsh punishments and fines.
Anticipation Guide
Another way to activate students’ background knowledge is through questioning. Have
students fill out the anticipation guide before reading the narrative. Have them discuss
their initial responses with the whole class. Then after reading the narrative, have students
discuss their responses as before, noticing any changes in their thinking.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
11
Anticipation Guide
PRE
POST
1
A slave’s life could be pleasant if he or
she had a kindly master. 2
For some slaves, living conditions were
good, and they preferred being a slave to
having freedom.
3
House slaves had better lives than slaves
who were forced to work in the fields.
4
Women slaves had better lives than male
slaves.
5
White slave owners treated their
household slaves like servants and
respected their dignity.
6
A person could have white skin and still
be regarded as a black slave.
7
A slave owner could be considered a
good Christian and still have children
with a slave woman.
8
The wives of slave owners accepted that
their husbands would have sexual
relations with women slaves they owned,
if the women could have healthy babies.
9
Babies who were the children of a slave
and her master were adopted by the slave
owner or given the owner’s last name.
10
For a slave it was better to surrender to
her master than to resist and fight for
her personal dignity.
11
Children who were born into slavery
were allowed to stay under the same
household as the mother.
12
Children born into slavery were not sold
until after their 13th year.
13
It was impossible to retain one’s personal
dignity and still be a slave.
14
Slaves who escaped to the North were
granted freedom.
15
Most white Americans supported the
institution of slavery prior to the Civil War.
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A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Harriet Jacobs’s Biography
Since Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl is written as an autobiography, students will need
to consider its authenticity and the reliability of Jacobs as the narrator of the story of her
own life. Therefore, you may want students to have in mind an outline of Jacobs’s life
before they begin to read the narrative. The Introduction to the Signet Classics edition
provides a short biography of Jacobs’s life by Myrlie Evers-Williams. The definitive
biography is Harriet Jacobs: A Life (Basic Civitas Books, 2004) by Jean Fagan Yellin.
Excellent biographical resources are available on the Web at the following sites:
Armistead Lemon. Summary: Harriet A Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Retrieved 5/28/2008 from http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/summary.html.
William L. Andrews. Harriet A. Jacobs: A biography. Retrieved 5/28/2008 from
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/bio.html
Biography of Harriet Jacobs from PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2923.
html
A related website on the slave experience is available at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/
slavery/experience/gender/spotlight.html
Assign students to read one of the web sites, the Introduction to Incidents, or a chapter in
the Yellin biography. Ask students to create a chart listing five central events in Jacobs’s life.
Students who read individual chapters in the book-length biography can provide significant
details about the central events highlighted by the other students. As a class compare the
charts of “central events” and discuss why there are similarities or differences in the charts.
Discuss: Are there events in Jacobs’s life that she would find too difficult or private to share
in an autobiography? Are there events she would want to emphasize? Why?
The following brief biography lists key events in Jacobs’s life:
Harriet Jacobs was born in Edenton, NC in 1813. She was the daughter
of Delilah, the slave of Margaret Horniblow, and Daniel Jacobs, the slave
of Andrew Knox. For the first six years of her life Harriet did not know
she was a slave but, when her mother died, Harriet was sent to her
mistress’ house. Margaret Horniblow was a relatively kind slave owner. She
taught Harriet to read and write and treated her like a child. Upon her
death Margaret bequeathed Harriet to her three year old niece, Mary
Matilda Norcom. At the age of 11 Harriet fell under the direct control of
Mary’s father, Dr. James Norcom, a family physician in Edenton.
Throughout her teen years Harriet endured incessant sexual harassment
from Norcom and found few allies to resist him. His wife directed her
anger towards Harriet, and Harriet’s grandmother, Molly Horniblow,
could do little to shelter her or commiserate. Desperate to avoid becoming
Norcom’s mistress, Harriet entered a romantic relationship with a local
lawyer, Samuel Tredwell Sawyer. Her relationship with Sawyer was
flattering and, perhaps, strategic—he came from a wealthy family that
wielded more power in the community than Norcom. Harriet gave birth
to two children with Sawyer, Joseph and Louisa. Hoping to induce
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
13
Norcom to sell her children to Sawyer, Harriet hid in her grandmother’s
narrow attic for seven years. Although he was able to buy the children
from Norcom, Sawyer did not emancipate the children as Harriet wished.
Instead, he sent Louisa to work as a house maid in New York City.
In 1842 Harriet escaped to the North by boat. After her escape Harriet led a
tense and uncertain life as a fugitive slave. Eventually she secured employment
as a seamstress and was able to reunite with her children in Boston. They lived
together only briefly because Norcom continually pursued Harriet, forcing
her to remain mobile. Finally in 1852 her friend and employer, Cornelia
Grinnell Willis, bought her from Norcom’s heirs and freed Harriet.
Harriet began to write publicly about her experiences as a slave in an
article published in the New York Tribune in 1853. Lydia Maria Child, a
prominent white abolitionist writer, edited Harriet’s manuscript and
helped her publish it in Boston. Praised by critics in the U.S. and Britain,
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl addressed the unique issues facing
female slaves.
Although Harriet’s narrative ends before the Civil War, her story continued.
Throughout the Civil War and after, Harriet and her daughter, Louisa,
provided charitable services to freed slaves. It was this work that brought
Harriet back to Edenton in 1867. Later she and her daughter established
an orphan asylum and school in Savannah, GA. Eventually, having to flee
racist violence in the South, they returned to Boston where they opened a
boarding house in 1870. Little is known about the last decade of her life;
by the late 1880s Harriet resettled in D.C. and died there in 1897.
Incidents was never reprinted in Harriet’s lifetime. In 1973 it was finally
reprinted but largely suspected to be a fictionalized account of the slave
experience. In 1987 Jean Fagan Yellin’s edition of Incidents established the
veracity of her narrative and put to rest concerns that it was largely written
by Child.
Visualizing the Setting
Edenton, NC
Edenton is located in northeastern North Carolina along the Albemarle Sound. Edenton
was an important port during the American colonial period and the colonial capital. In
1774 it became the site of the Edenton Tea Party when fifty-one women gathered to
protest British taxation on tea. Although it experienced severe depression during the War
of 1812, it eventually reemerged as a thriving port. Plantations owners used the port to
export cotton and import goods from the North and abroad.
An historic marker has been erected in Edenton to commemorate Harriet Jacobs. It reads:
“Harriet Jacobs. c. 1813-1897. Fugitive slave, writer, & abolitionist. Incidents in the Life
of a Slave Girl (1861) depicts her early life. Lived in Edenton.” You can access an image
of the marker at: http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMT19 .
Use this marker to introduce students to Harriet Jacobs and to make predictions about
her narrative. Discuss: What do the descriptors say about Jacobs? What is left out about
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her life? Why? Encourage students to critically analyze the language/word choice used to
describe her on this marker.
Map Study
Provide students with a map of North Carolina to identify Edenton and to speculate
about life there in the 19th century based on its location. If you have access to the
Internet, you can provide students with a 19th century map of North Carolina at the
following site: http://www.cummingmapsociety.org/19thC_Maps.htm
The University of North Carolina library offers an extensive collection of maps which
students can explore. The web site is http://www.lib.unc.edu/maps/
Using Art to Introduce Time & Place Runaway Slaves
Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), a highly talented African American painter, captured the
struggle for freedom and justice in America from the Civil War period of the 1860s
through the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. Among his work, he created a series of
paintings depicting Harriet Tubman and another depicting Frederick Douglass (both are
housed at the Hampton University Art Museum, Hampton, VA). Among other themes,
he captured the danger of escape for runaway slaves and a sense of pride and resilience
on the part of African Americans. You can view one of these paintings, Forward (1967),
at http://www.ncmoa.org/collections/highlights/20thcentury/20th/1950-2000/034_lrg.
shtml. Here Lawrence dramatizes Harriet Tubman’s efforts to rescue slaves. In this
painting she ushers a small group of runaways.
Use this image to focus student interest on Incidents and its major theme of escape and
freedom. Ask students to journal about their reactions to the painting and the choices the
artist made to depict the persons and to tell the story of the event. They can share their
journal responses with a partner before the whole class discussion about the feelings
generated by the painting. Ask students to talk about how they might depict freedom,
escape, and slavery visually and then have students create their own visuals, using any
media that is readily available in your classroom, such as collage, paint, colored pencils.
Making Predictions
A) Book Walk: Previewing the Text
Help your students get acquainted with the text. Have students browse the title page,
introduction, and table of contents. It might be intimidating to some readers because it
has over 40 chapters. Show students that the chapters are often short and based on
specific events. Ask students to begin to make predictions about the text and the story
they will read based on their examination of the Table of Contents. Ask them to predict
the parts of Jacobs’s life that will be covered in the autobiography.
B) Examining the Title Page as a Primary Source
Analyzing the title page to Incidents can be a powerful pre-reading activity and provide
students with a better understanding of primary sources. For this activity use the SCIMC strategy. Individually, with partners, or as a whole class, ask students to answer a series
of prompts as they read the title page. They will summarize the information they find,
draw inferences, and check the accuracy of their inferences. (Note: if this activity is done
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individually or as partners, the teacher should provide students with reference texts—
textbooks, Internet access, encyclopedia, non-fiction texts, to check their inferences and
predictions.)
A copy of the original title page is provided in the Signet Classics edition of the text
immediately preceding the preface. You can also find a digitized version at http://
docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/title.html.
1. S—Summary: What type of historical document is the source? What specific
information, details, and/or perspectives does the source provide? What are the
subject, audience, and/or purpose of the source? What does the source directly tell us?
2. C—Context: Who produced the source? When, why, and where was the source produced?
What was happening locally and globally at the time the source was produced? What
summarizing information can place the source in time, space, and place?
3. I—Inference: What is suggested by the source? What conclusions may be drawn
from the source? What biases are indicated in the source? What contextualizing
information, while not directly evident, may be suggested from the source?
4. M—Monitor: What is missing from the source in terms of evidence that is needed
to answer the guiding historical question? What ideas, images, or terms need further
defining from the source in order to understand the context or period in which the
source was created? How reliable is the source for its intended purpose in answering
the historical question? What questions from the previous stages need to be revisited
in order to analyze the source satisfactorily?
5. C—Corroborate: What similarities and differences exist between the sources? What
factors could account for the similarities and differences? What gaps appear to exist
that hinder the final interpretation of the source? What other sources are available
that could check, confirm, or oppose the evidence currently marshaled?
—Adapted from Doolittle, Hicks, & Ewing, 2004
Note: You can download a SCIM-C strategy worksheet at http://www.primarysourcelearning.
org/tps/step1/workshop/2/m_a/psi/documents/lesson16/16_SCIM.pdf; more details
about using this strategy with Incidents can be found in Bolick, C.M. & McGlinn, M.
(2004). Harriet Jacobs: Using on-line slave narratives in the classroom. Social Education,
68 (4), 198-202.
II. Genre Study
Pseudonyms or Pen Names
Nowhere in Harriet’s narrative does she disclose her identity or those who shared in her
story. Instead she wrote under an assumed name, Linda Brent, and used pseudonyms to
refer to important people and places in her story. Although she insists in the preface, “I had
no motive for secrecy on my own account,” she nonetheless felt it important to shield herself.
Discuss as a class the advantages and disadvantages of using a pen name. Compare Harriet’s
use of a pseudonym to other famous authors with whom students may be familiar: such
as George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans), Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), Lewis Carroll
(Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), or O. Henry (William Sydney Porter).
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Invite students to provide examples from popular culture of the practice of actors and
artists using stage names. In what ways is this practice comparable to Harriet’s desire to
protect herself or the people she describes?
Autobiography vs. Biography
As a literary genre, autobiography—narrating one’s own life—is a variation of
biography—a form of writing that describes the life of a particular individual. Both are
intended to be considered as non-fiction. Autobiography tends to be introspective in
nature as the author pieces together memories to form a complete narrative. Autobiography
can take the form of a diary, journal, letters, or memoir. Biography is written from the
perspective of an outside observer and often based on a variety of evidence. In modern
times, documentary films are popular forms of biography.
It is important for students to understand that Harriet’s narrative can be characterized as
a primary source. Unlike secondary sources, such as a textbook or monograph, Harriet’s
narrative provides a first hand account of her experiences as a slave. Her account adds to
the historical record, and it is because of this account that historians can write histories
of the time period. In order to help students better understand what a primary source is,
and to distinguish between autobiographies and biographies, have them complete the
following activity.
Procedure:
1. Students bring in several primary sources from their own histories. This could include
diaries, letters, reports, photographs, creative works, records, memos, and newspaper
articles. Make sure students know they will be sharing their primary sources with a
classmate.
2. In the classroom have students write an autobiography of their life based on the
primary sources they brought with them.
3. Next have students share their primary sources with a partner.
4. After their show-tell, have the partners write a biography based on the classmates’
primary sources.
5. Ask students to compare the autobiography they wrote to the biography their
classmates wrote.
6. Use this activity to spark discussion not only about primary sources but also the
differences between autobiographies and biographies.
III. Initial Exploration of Themes
Prepare students to attend to some of the key themes in Jacobs’s autobiography, before
they begin to read, by engaging them in one or more of the following activities and
discussions.
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Resistance, Self Preservation, and Survival Expression through Song
Harriet writes that it wasn’t until the age of 6 that she realized that she was a slave. Her
growing awareness of her position as a slave and her eventual resistance to this identity
form the bulk of the story. Harriet’s history parallels the slave experience which is
described in slave songs and spirituals. Have students examine slave songs at several web
sites, looking for this theme of resistance. Ask students to collect passages that indicate
slaves’ resistance to share with the whole class.
Discuss: How did slaves resist the imposition of the role of slave from their white masters?
What resources did slaves call upon in order to maintain their resistance? What do these
songs tell us about the human spirit?
These web sites include the words of the songs and performances of selected songs:
http://www.negrospirituals.com/news-song/index.htm
http://www.africanamericanspirituals.com/
Resistance throughout History
Students may be familiar with the historical experiences of other groups who have
survived and resisted the racially inferior roles imposed on them by others, such as
American Indians in the 19th century, European Jews during World War II, and U.S.
Japanese citizens who endured internment. Divide your class into small groups to do
background reading on the history of each of these groups and African Americans in
order to create a visual scrapbook of images which portray each group. Ask students to
focus on the theme of resistance in their research and their selection of images. Students
can use history textbooks which record the histories of these groups and web resources.
You can direct students to the following web sites to begin their search:
Native Americans
•
Digital History Site
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/native_voices/nav2.html
•
Library of Congress’s American Memory Collection,
search “Native Americans”
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
•
NativeWeb
http://www.nativeweb.org/resources/history/united_states/
•
Ojibway History Text
http://www.turtle-island.com/historytext.html
Japanese Internment
•
Telling their Stories (The Urban School of San Francisco)
http://www.tellingstories.org/
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Holocaust
•
The Holocaust History Project:
http://www.holocaust-history.org/
•
Holocaust Memorial Museum:
http://www.ushmm.org/
(see also “Rescue and Resistance at: http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/
online/#rescue_resistance)
Color and Identity
Color and identity are at the heart of Harriet’s narrative and, some might argue, the
experiences of every American. Her narrative complicates our conceptions of race because
she and her children could pass as whites. The PBS series, Race: The Power of an Illusion
helps students reflect on their assumptions and misconceptions about race. Have students
explore various aspects of the site by providing a hotlist of links and discussion questions.
Suggestions include:
“Is Race for Real” http://www.pbs.org/race/001_WhatIsRace/001_00-home.htm
— provides background knowledge about the origins of modern definitions of race
and clarifies common misconceptions about race.
“Sorting People” http://www.pbs.org/race/002_SortingPeople/002_00-home.htm
—provides a sorting activity that demonstrates how difficult it is to sort people
based on their appearance.
“Race Timeline” http://www.pbs.org/race/003_RaceTimeline/003_00-home.htm—
is an interactive timeline tracing changing American ideas about race.
“Me, My Race, & I” http://www.pbs.org/race/005_MeMyRaceAndI/005_00-home.
htm—is a narrated slide shows exploring various experiences with race.
Class discussion: How does an understanding of race as a social construct (created by racial
prejudice rather than scientific evidence) impact our understandings of racial difference?
Social Justice
Harriet describes both white enemies and allies in her story. She is helped by activists in
the abolition movement and eventually joins their cause. Help students to consider that
slavery was the law of the land and individuals could be jailed and tried for aiding slaves
to escape or for failing to disclose their whereabouts. Ask students to brainstorm any
contemporary situations in which individuals may need to follow their own sense of
morality over the legislated law. Some contemporary examples are laws that permit
wiretapping of citizens without cause and anti-immigration laws. Students could choose
one of these topics and read a series of newspaper articles on the issue from several
different sources. Then students could create Pro and Con arguments to support or defy
the law. After this presentation, discuss with students how an individual is justified in
taking a stand that is counter to the law.
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Civil Disobedience
Explore the idea of civil disobedience in Henry David Thoreau’s essay, “Civil
Disobedience” and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” Both of
these documents are readily available in textbooks and on the Internet. Divide the class
in half, having each group read a different document. Ask the students to make a list of
the arguments put forth by Thoreau and King for civil disobedience. Discuss as a group:
What is the strongest argument posed by each of these writers? What is the weakest? Do
you agree or disagree with their thinking? How is society improved when citizens
continually test limits to rights and freedoms?
“Just” vs. “Unjust” Laws
Explore the idea that a law can be unjust and therefore must be challenged. King provides
an excellent definition in his “Letter… .” Ask students to take King’s definition of a just
law and apply it to several recent rulings of the Supreme Count that they find discussed
in recent news. Do these decisions stand the test for a just law? Why or Why not?
Historic Criticism of Slavery
Read Angelina Grimke’s appeal calling on women of the South to rise up against slavery,
“An Appeal to the Christian Women of the South.” When it was published in 1836, it
was burned in public in South Carolina and she was threatened with arrest if she ever
returned home to Charleston. (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/utc/abolitn/abesaegat.html)
Grimke outlines the arguments that were used to support slavery, particularly arguments
based on biblical authority. Ask students to consider Grimke’s appeal as an argumentative
essay by asking them to list the arguments for slavery and how Grimke refutes these
arguments. What is her most compelling argument against slavery?
Family Support in the Face of Adversity
Harriet is supported throughout her hardships as a slave by members of her family. Her
grandmother is an especially powerful force in her life. Have the students read Harriet’s
brief description of her grandmother’s actions on behalf of her children and grandchildren
(pp. 2-3) and the passage describing the grandmother’s emancipation (pp. 8-9). Ask
students to think about a member of their family or caretaker who is or was a source of
strength for them. Have the students write in their journals about that person describing
their physical appearance, character traits, and actions. Students can then share their
writing in pairs or volunteer to read what they have written to the whole class.
Following this activity, students can be given time to write letters or email to a family
member or friend describing how they feel about the person.
Read to the students the first chapter of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya
Angelou (1969, Random House). This chapter describes Maya Angelou’s grandmother,
Annie Henderson, who takes Maya and her brother in after their parents’ divorce. Lead
a discussion about how Annie is a source of strength and support for the children and ask
students to reflect on the sources of support in their lives.
Nikki Giovanni has collected tributes to mothers and grandmothers in a collection
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published in 1994, Grandmothers: Poems, Reminiscences, and Short Stories about the
Keepers of our Traditions (New York: Holt). You can see a preview of the book at http://
books.google.com where you will find a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, “My Grandmother
is Waiting for Me to Come Home,” and essays by Virginia Fowler, Susan Power, Sharon
Dilworth, and Erin Khue Ninh. Select one or more of these pieces for students to read
and discuss. Then ask students to write a poem or character sketch about a grandparent
or other family member. They should begin by brainstorming memories about the person
with specific details on a graphic organizer. Students should share their visuals with a
partner, adding more details as they talk about the person. As a closure activity students
can craft “Bio poems” or short sketches of this individual, using the samples which they
have read as models. Alternately students could bring in a picture of a grandparent or
family member that they wish to describe. Using the pictures, students should describe
the physical traits of the person in detail and then tell one memory they have of this
person that reveals his/her character or approach to life.
Sexual Politics
Jacobs’s narrative presents intriguing questions about her struggle with her master, Dr.
Flint, and her resistance to his advances. Discussion of Harriet’s situation may be more
comprehensible if students are aware of the situation of women in the late 19th century.
Read two short stories from the turn of the century to get a picture of the roles of women
in marriage at this time: “The Story of an Hour” written by Kate Chopin (1894),
available at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/hour/ and “The Yellow Wallpaper” by
Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1899) available at: http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/
history/lavender/wallpaper.html.
Discuss: What do these stories show about the married relationship of men and women in
the late 19th century? How does Mrs. Mallard expect her life to change when she thinks
her husband has died? Why is she joyous at this prospect? What does the language the
husband uses in “The Yellow Wallpaper” when speaking to his wife show about how he
thinks about her? Notice that the women in these stories “escape” through death or
madness. What does this say about the authors’ ideas about women’s choices at this time?
The Cult of Domesticity or Cult of True Womanhood
During the nineteenth century, in Great Britain and the United States, women,
particularly upper and middle class women, were taught that they should take on the role
of loving wife and nurturing mother within the domestic sphere. They were supposed to
embody certain virtues of piety, purity, and obedience to the will of their fathers and
husbands. Ask students to do a web search on the “cult of true womanhood” in order to
understand its delineation of the role of women. Then discuss as a class:
1. How would this “cult” affect the way in which southern women saw themselves?
2. How would a southern woman deal with her husband’s sexual advances to slave
women living in the household?
3. Did this “cult” impact working class women or slaves? Why or why not?
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During Reading Activities
The following Reader Response prompts, discussion questions, and activities will engage
students in tracing themes and enable them to deepen their critical thinking about
Jacobs’s autobiography.
I. Noting Initial Reactions
Sticky note summaries
As students are reading, it is helpful for them to jot down notes and questions on sticky
notes which they can later refer to in class discussions and other activities. The teacher
might request students use an alternate color post-it to write chapter summaries.
II. Reader Response
Students can respond to selected quotes from the text. Quotes can be used for free writing,
journal entries or discussion starters. The following quotations may lead to rich responses:
“I was born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed
away” (Ch. 1, p. 1).
“Mrs. Flint, like so many southern women, was totally deficient in energy. She had
not strength to superintend her household affairs; but her nerves were so strong, that
she could sit in her easy chair and see a woman whipped, till the blood trickled from
every stroke of the lash” (Ch. 2, p. 9).
“O, you happy free women, contrast your New Year’s day with that of the poor
bond-woman!” (Ch. 3, p. 13).
“‘Forgive me for what mother? For not letting him treat me like a dog? No! I will never
humble myself to him. I have worked with him for nothing all of my life, and I am
repaid with stripes and imprisonment. Here I will stay till I die, or till he sells me”
(Ch. 4, p. 21).
“He peopled my young mind with unclean images, such as only a vile monster could
think of. I turned from him with disgust and hatred. But he was my master. I was
compelled to live under the same roof as him” (Ch. 5, p. 27).
“The secrets of slavery are concealed like those of the Inquisition. My master was, to
my knowledge, the father of eleven slaves. But did the mothers dare to tell who was the
father of their children? Did the other slaves dare to allude to it, except in whispers
among themselves? No indeed! They knew too well the consequences” (Ch. 6, p. 35).
“Yet few slaveholders seem to be aware of the widespread moral ruin occasioned by
this wicked system” (Ch. 9, p. 56).
“I thought I should be happy in my triumph over him. But now that the truth was
out, and my relatives would hear of it, I felt wretched. Humble as were their
circumstances, they had pride in my good character. Now, how could I look at them
in the face? My self-respect was gone!” (Ch. 10, p. 61).
“At the south, a gentleman may have a shoal of colored children without any
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disgrace; but if he is known to purchase them, with the view of setting them free,
the example is thought to be dangerous to their ‘particular institution,’ and he
becomes unpopular” (Ch. 34, p. 195).
“There is a great difference between Christianity and religion at the south” (Ch. 13,
p. 82).
Harriet said, “I like a straightforward course, and am always reluctant to resort to
subterfuges. So far as my ways have been crooked, I charge them all upon slavery. It
was that system of violence and wrong which now left me no alternative but to enact
a falsehood” (Ch. 32, p. 187-188).
“O, the hypocrisy of slaveholders! Did the old fox [Dr Flint] suppose I was goose
enough to go into such a stupid trap? Verily, he relied too much on ‘the stupidity of
the African race’” (Ch. 34, p. 195).
“She [Mrs. Bruce] told me she was an English woman, and that was a pleasant
circumstance to me, because I had heard they had less prejudice against color than
Americans entertained” (Ch. 33, p. 190).
“I longed for some one to confide it [that Harriet was a fugitive slave]; but I had been
so deceived by white people, that I had lost all confidence in them” (Ch. 33, p. 190).
“My answer was that the colored servants ought to be dissatisfied with themselves,
for not having too much self-respect too submit to such treatment; that there was
no difference in the price of board for colored and white servants, and there was no
justification for difference of treatment” (Ch. 35, p. 199).
“Let every colored man and woman do this, and eventually we shall cease to be
trampled under foot by our oppressors” (Ch. 35, p. 199).
“Again I was to be torn from a comfortable home, and all my plans for the welfare
of my children were to be frustrated by that demon Slavery!” (Ch. 36, p. 203).
“She [Ellen] was mine by birth, and she was also mine by Southern law, since my
grandmother held the bill of slave that made her so. I did not feel that she was safe
unless I had her with me” (Ch. 36, p. 203).
“For the first time in my life I was in a place where I was treated according to my
deportment, without reference to my complexion. I felt as if a great millstone had
been lifted from my breast” (Ch. 37, p. 206).
“During all that time [in England], I never saw the slightest symptom of prejudice
against color” (Ch. 37, p. 208).
“He [Benny] was liked by the master, and was a favorite with his fellow-apprentices; but
one day they accidentally discovered a fact they had never before suspected—that he
was colored! This at once transformed him into a different being” (Ch. 38, p. 209).
“I knew the law would decide that I was his [Dr. Flint] property, and would probably
still give his daughter a claim to my children; but I regarded such law as the
regulations of robbers, who had no rights that I was bound to respect” (Ch. 38, p. 211).
“‘I know all about it mother’, she [Ellen] replied. ‘I am nothing to my father, and he is
nothing to me. All my love is for you. I was with him five months in Washington, and he
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never cared for me. He never spoke to me as he did to his little Fanny,’” (Ch. 39, p. 212).
“The slave Hamlin, the first fugitive that came under the new law, was given up by
the bloodhounds of the north to the bloodhounds of the south. It was the beginning
of a reign of terror to the colored population. The great city rushed on in its whirl
of excitement, taking no note of the ‘short and simple annals of the poor.’ But while
fashionables were listening to the thrilling voice of Jenny Lind in Metropolitan Hall,
the thrilling voices of poor hunted colored people went up, in an agony of
supplication, to the lord from Zion’s church” (Ch. 40, p. 214).
“I dreaded the approach of summer, when snakes and slaveholders make their
appearance. I was, in fact, a slave in New York, as subject to slave laws as I had been
in a Slave State. Strange incongruity in a State called free!” (Ch. 40, p. 218).
“I well know the value of that bit of paper; but as much as I love my freedom, I do
not like to look upon it. I am deeply grateful to the generous friend who procured
it, but I despise the miscreant who demanded payment for what never rightfully
belonged to him or his” (Ch. 41, p. 226).
III. Tracing Events and Character Development in the Narrative
Bulletin Board
In order to trace their growing understanding of Harriet’s life and circumstances, have
students, as a group project, create a bulletin board related to Harriet’s life and the
historical context in which she lived. Ask students to add to the bulletin board throughout
their reading of the narrative by creating their own drawings, collecting images, and using
symbols to represent the various events, places, and people in Harriet’s narrative.
Creating a Timeline
1. Have students first create a timeline in which they post the chronology of Harriet’s
narrative. The whole class could use a large sheet of newsprint paper or assign
students to create timeline entries on specific/dates using construction paper or
word processing software.
Dates which could be included on the timeline of Harriet’s life:
1813
1819
1825
1835-1842
1842
1861
1897
Born
mother died
bequeathed to Flint’s daughter
Hiding
Escape
Wrote narrative
Died
2. Next, have students superimpose the larger historic context of U.S. History.
Discuss: What are key events during the years of Jacobs’s life, 1813-1897? In what
ways is her life story parallel to the story of the U.S. during these years?
Mapping Harriet’s Travels
Harriet describes her travels to many places and in each instance she experiences different
levels of prejudice and friendship. Provide students with a blank map of the United States.
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Have them map-out Harriet’s travels by noting the date next to each point on the map.
Students may also want to use different colors of ink to plot the path of Harriet’s brother
and children.
IV. Discussion Questions
Childhood and Early Adolescence: Facing her Slave Identity Chapters 1-9
1. What were Harriet’s feelings about her life before she was six years old and after?
2. What might have motivated Harriet’s mistress to bequeathing Harriet as a slave to
her five-year-old niece?
3. What might be some of the reasons that Dr. Flint was so attracted to Harriet?
4. What kind of woman is Harriet’s grandmother and what effect does she have on the
family?
5. What effect does slavery have on the lives of the slave holders and why?
Early Adulthood: Taking Control of Her Destiny Chapters 10-16
1. Why does Harriet have a sexual relationship with Mr. Sands and not have a
relationship with the freed slave whom she loves?
2. Do you think that Harriet’s grandmother’s judgment about Harriet’s morals is fair?
3. Why does Harriet need her grandmother’s approval so much?
4. How does the practice of slavery violate Christian principles?
5. Why does Harriet work so hard for her masters?
6. What is the key factor that resolves Harriet to escape from Mr. Flint’s plantation?
Escape & Hiding Chapters 17-30
1. Who are all of the people who assist Harriet in her hiding?
2. What could motivate a white southern person to hide a run-away slave?
3. What motivated Dr. Flint to search for Harriet so vigorously?
4. Why does Mr. Sands buy Harriet’s children? Do you think that he will free them or
keep them as slaves?
5. What must it have been like for Harriet to hide so long in the confined space in her
grandmother’s shed?
6. How does Harriet show her strong love for her children during the time of her hiding?
7. Why do you think it was important to Phillip to provide a funeral and burial for
Aunt Nancy?
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Freedom and Life as a Fugitive Chapters 31-41
1. Who are the people who support Harriet while she is in Philadelphia and New York?
2. Why is it important to Harriet that she pay her own way to New York?
3. In what condition does Harriet find her daughter?
4. Why hasn’t Mr. Sands freed Ellen?
5. What are some of the ways that Harriet’s life in New York is different from her life
in North Carolina?
6. Why do you think that the hotel staff and black servants treated Harriet so meanly
when she traveled with the Bruce family to Albany?
7. Compare and contrast the plight of the poor in England with that of the slave in America.
Do you agree with Harriet’s judgment about which group has the worst situation?
8. What does Harriet’s attempt to run an anti-slavery reading room in Rochester say
about her character?
9. Until Mrs. Bruce purchases her freedom, Harriet still feels endangered in New York.
Why is she not more protected by society in this northern state? Why are her owners
in North Carolina so eager to reclaim her?
After Reading Activities
I. Deepening Understanding
Send-a-Question: Involving Students in Small Group Collaborative Thinking
This collaborative strategy allows students to engage in discussion of key themes found
in the text.
1. Divide the class into small groups no larger than six in a group.
2. Prepare an envelope for each group with one of the discussion questions below
written on the face of it and two index cards within it.
3. Ask each group to read the question on the front of the envelope. Ask students to
discuss possible answers, referring back to the text of Incidents in the Life of a Slave
Girl. Once students have come to a consensus, have one member of the group record
the group’s response on the index card.
4. When all groups are finished with their first question, have students place their
index cards back into the envelope and pass it to another group. The process is
repeated when the groups consider this new question, write their solutions on the
index card, and pass the envelopes on to the next group.
5. In the final round, the group will review the answers written on the index cards. The
final group should discuss the question on the envelope, their classmates’ responses,
and come to consensus about the best and most complete response. These final
groups will present their synthesis to the whole class.
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A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
6. The teacher should lead a full-class discussion, referring back to the text, about the
questions and how the characters dealt with these issues. The teacher might provide
each student with a handout listing the questions and space for students to jot down
notes. This activity can be adapted using any of the themes mentioned below.
—Adapted from Barkley, Cross, & Major. (2005) Collaborative learning techniques: A
handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
II. Discussion Questions
The following questions build on initial reactions and lead students back to the narrative
and their research to make connections and to deepen their analysis. These questions can be
used for the Send-a-Question activity, class discussion, journal writing, or as essay topics.
1. The Antebellum South
What was life like for slaves prior to the beginning of the Civil War? Use examples from
Harriet’s narrative or information you gained from other sources to describe the
institution of slavery.
2. Race as Black and White
In chapter one, Harriet describes her uncle Benjamin as a “bright, handsome lad, nearly
white; for he inherited the complexion my grandmother had derived from Anglo-Saxon
ancestors” (p. 2). Much later her son Benny is ostracized from his fellow apprentices
when it is discovered that he is black. What do these instances reveal about the role of
skin color and perceptions of race? To what extent do these examples call into question
cultural conceptions of race as black and white?
3. Struggle for Self identity, Self-preservation, and Freedom
Harriet’s autobiography is a story of her continual pursuit of individual freedom. With
this struggle comes Harriet’s internal struggle for self identity and self preservation. Find
examples of this struggle within the text. List all of the identities Harriet filled—e.g.
mother, daughter, nurse maid, etc.—and the impact slavery had on her ability to fulfill
these identities.
4. Bond between Harriet and Her Relatives
Harriet’s autobiography is also a great story about family. Throughout her life Harriet is
dependent on family members to keep her safe and provide affection. At the same time,
it is her great wish to live freely with her children—“I do not sit with my children in a
home of my own, I still long for a hearthstone of my own, however humble” (p. 227).
Find examples of the centrality of family in Harriet’s story. How were Harriet’s experiences
similar to or different from the experience of the other slave families she described?
5. Obedience and Familial Loyalty
Harriet points to some of the tensions that exist for slaves as they are forced to choose
between their family needs and those of their masters. For instance, Harriet’s brother is
forced to choose between father and mistress, Harriet ostracizes her grandmother through
her relationship with the young lawyer, and Harriet leaves her own children for the better
part of a year while she travels to England with her ward. What kind of evidence do these
and other examples provide about the impact of slavery on familial loyalty?
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6. Spirituality and Moral Character
Harriet seems to continually refer to her own moral character and blames her failings on
the institution of slavery. What examples does Harriet provide? Is she convincing? What
seems to be her motivation in referring to moral character?
7. Gender
In the preface Harriet wrote, “But I do earnestly desire to arouse the women of the North
to a realizing sense of the condition of two millions of women at the South, still in
bondage, suffering what I have suffered, and most of them far worse” (p. xvii-xviii). To
what extent is Harriet’s story a woman’s story? Provide examples. How effective is she in
providing evidence to “arouse the women of the North”?
8. Religion and Slavery
Harriet repeatedly refers to religion, specifically Christianity, in her text. Use examples
from the text to illustrate her views of religion. What is the effect of these references on
the overall tone and message of the text? Do you think it is effective as a literary and
persuasive strategy?
To learn more about the role religion played in the lives of slaves, consult the following
website:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/religiouscontent.html
9. White Religious Practices and Slavery
In addition to describing her religious convictions and those of her fellow slaves, Harriet
also refers to the role of religion in white culture. For instance she offers two conflicting
portrayals:
Harriet wrote, “There is a great difference between Christianity and religion at the south”
(Ch. 13, p. 82), and, “The contemptuous manner in which the communion had been
administered to colored people, in my native place; the church membership of Dr. Flint,
and others like him; and the buying and selling of slaves, by professed ministers of the
gospel, had given me a prejudice against the Episcopal church. The whole service seemed
to me a mockery and a sham” (p. 208).
However, in England, Harriet met a clergyman “who was a true disciple of Jesus.” Harriet
noted “The beauty of his daily life inspired me with faith in the genuineness of Christian
professions. Grace entered my heart, and I knelt at the communion table, I trust in true
humility of soul” (Ch. 37, p. 208).
How does Harriet’s description of religion in white culture serve her narrative? How does
she seem to deal with the contradictions and hypocrisy that she encounters? To what
extent does it justify her ideas about the immoral nature of slavery?
10. “Self-imposed” Exile
The most harrowing and awe-inspiring portion of the book is perhaps the seven year span
that Harriet spent in concealment in her grandmother’s attic. What does this experience
reveal to the reader about Harriet’s character? How does it impact her future experiences?
11. Fugitive Slaves
There are many examples of runaway slaves being pursued and caught by their former
owners. Dr Flint pursues Harriet continually until his death and refuses to sell the
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children until he is tricked into it. Read the following runaway slave notice for Harriet
Jacobs : http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1541.html. What does this slave notice
tell modern readers about the institution of slavery in general and about Harriet
specifically? [Note: the University of Virginia’s Valley of the Shadows website offers
additional lesson plan ideas for analysis of runaway slave ads: http://www.vcdh.virginia.
edu/gos/lang_runaways.html].
12. Freedom
It is hard to pin-point the exact moment when Harriet gained her freedom. For instance,
she was clearly free when her employer bought her freedom, or was it earlier, when she
took control of her own life? What do you think? Use examples from the narrative to
support your argument.
13. White Views of Slavery
Do you believe that all whites held the same view about African American slaves during
this time period? Use evidence from your reading to support your response.
14. Education
Since education was denied to most slaves, does it surprise you that Harriet Jacobs was
able to write such a descriptive account of her experiences? Why or why not? Why do
you think it was so important to Harriet that her daughter and son had the opportunity
for an education?
15. Incidents: Novel or Memoir?
Why do you think critics read this text as a novel? What conventions of a novel appear
in the text? How does your understanding of the text change if you take it to be a true
accounting of Jacobs’s life?
III. Group and Individual Projects
Bio-poem of Harriet Jacobs’s Life
As a review or to encourage students to conduct more research on Harriet Jacobs, assign
a Bio-poem. The following format can be used:
First name
Four traits that describe the character
Relative of
Lover of [three people]
Who feels [three adjectives]
Who needs [three items]
Who fears [three things]
Who gives [three things]
Who would like to see [three results]
Resident of
Last name
Encourage students to follow the correct format, use information from the text or their
individual research, and focus on creativity.
—Adapted from NCSS (2008) Adapting Women’s History through Literature.
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Note: An alternative to this format is for students to write a descriptive phrase for each
letter of Harriet’s first or last name, e.g.
H
A
R
R
I
E
T
Historical Investigation: True Story?
Have students gather archival evidence to support the validity of Harriet’s story and to make
a case, with supporting evidence from their sources, for the authenticity of the narrative.
Sources could include: “Introduction by the Editor [L. Maria Child]” (Incidents in the
Life of a Slave Girl, p. xix-xx); the Runaway Slave Notice for Harriet (http://www.pbs.
org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1541.html); her brother, John Jacobs’s narrative (http://docsouth.
unc.edu/neh/jjacobs/summary.html); portions of Jean Fagan Yellin’s biography of Harriet
Jacobs (Yellin, Jean Fagan. Harriet Jacobs: A Life. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2004).
Note: According to William Andrews: “Not until the extensive archival work of Jean
Fagan Yellin did Incidents begin to take its place as a major African American slave
narrative. Published in Yellin's admirable edition of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
(Harvard University Press, 1987), Jacobs’s correspondence with Child helps lay to rest the
long-standing charge against Incidents that it is at worst a fiction and at best the product
of Child's pen. Child's letters to Jacobs and others make clear that her role as editor was
no more than she acknowledged in her introduction to Incidents: “to ensure the orderly
arrangement and directness of the narrative, without adding anything to the text or
altering in any significant way Jacobs’s manner of recounting her story” (from William
Andrews’ biography retrieved from http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/bio.html),
Creating a Digital Documentary about Harriet Jacobs
Have students create a digital documentary about the life of Harriet Jacobs within the
context of her time. Options include having students use Microsoft Moviemaker, Apple’s
iMovie, or PrimaryAccess, a free web-based application available at http://www.
primaryaccess.org. To create a digital documentary, students will write a cohesive script,
select images, and add narration and music. To get started you may want to refer to the
following teacher resources:
1) Digital Historic Narratives
http://docsouth.unc.edu/classroom/narratives/narratives.html
2) Teaching Matters: Digital Documentaries
http://www.atschool.org/digidocs/
(their checklist is very helpful)
http://www.atschool.org/digidocs/printable/technology_checklist.pdf
3) Ferster, B., Hammond, T., & Bull, G. (2006). PrimaryAccess: Creating digital
documentaries in the social studies classroom. Social Education, 70(3), 147-150.
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Runaway Slaves
Using advertisements for slave runaways from the Virginia Runaways Project, can help
students understand the circumstances of 19th century slaves. A mini lesson on these
advertisements is available at University of Virginia’s Valley of the Shadows Project and
can be accessed at: http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/slave_runaways_main.html.
IV. Extended Reading
In the Family: Compare and Contrast Narratives of Harriet Jacobs and her Brother
Harriet’s brother, John S. Jacobs, also wrote a narrative of his experience in slavery.
Provide students with a copy or electronic access to John S. Jacobs (1815-1875) “A True
Tale of Slavery,” a serialized narrative that appeared in four issues of The Leisure Hour: A
Family Journal of Instruction and Recreation in February 1861 available at: http://
docsouth.unc.edu/neh/jjacobs/summary.html.
It is suggested that you either divide up the reading of this narrative or point students
towards specific excerpts. Ask students to compare the narratives based on key themes
such as: “role of family,” “skills/work,” “treatments,” “relationship to owners,” “escape,”
and “views of slavery.” After students have had a chance to jot down their ideas, encourage
them to share their impressions with a classmate before engaging students in a full-class
discussion about the two narratives. Discuss: How do Harriet’s experiences differ from
her brother’s? Why?
Male and Female Slave Narratives Compare Harriet Jacobs’s narrative to the accounts of other slaves: Frederick Douglass
and Ellen Craft. Frederick Douglass’ autobiography is available at http://docsouth.unc.
edu/neh/douglass55/douglass55.html. (Also available from Signet Classics.)
Note this text has two parts: 1) “My life as a slave” and 2) “My life as a free man.”
Ellen Craft’s “Running a thousand miles to freedom” (available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/
neh/craft/menu.html) tells the story of William and Ellen Craft who escaped from slavery.
This narrative was published in 1860, the same year as Harriet Jacobs’s Life of a Slave
Girl.
Divide the class into groups who are assigned to read different section of Douglass’ or
Craft’s autobiographies. Students should prepare lists describing the different times in
Douglass’ and William Craft’s lives, on one side of a column; then they can fill in the
matching column, listing parallel events in Jacobs’s and Ellen Craft’s lives. Discuss: Are
the experiences of male vs. female slaves different? Why?
Creating a Picture Book
As an alternative to having students read Craft’s narrative, read out loud The Daring
Escape of Ellen Craft by Cathy Moore (illustrations by Mary O Keefe Young, 2002,
Carolrhoda Books). After a brief discussion about the text, have students begin developing
their own picture book on the life of Harriet Jacobs. You may want students to work in
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groups of 2-3. Depending on the available resources, students can create their finished
book from construction paper and other art supplies or using Microsoft Publisher or
word processing software. Students should be evaluated on the basis of the historical
content, creativity, and aesthetics of the picture book they produce. If possible, arrange
for the students to share their picture books with younger audiences.
Here is a brief list of picture books on slavery which you may wish to have in the
classroom as resources; students may be able to use these picture books as models for their
own creative efforts:
•
Walter, Mildred Pitts. Alec’s Primer. Illus. by Larry Johnson. Middlebury, VT:
Vermont Folklife Center, 2004.
•
Rappaport, Doreen. Freedom River. Illus. by Bryan Collier. New York: Hyperion
Books for Children, 2000.
•
Levine, Ellen. Henry’s Freedom Box. Illus. by Kadir Nelson. New York: Scholastic
Press, 2007.
•
Wright, Courtni Crump. Journey to Freedom: A Story of the Underground Railroad.
Illus. by Gershom Griffith. New York: Holiday House, 1994.
•
Miller, William. Frederick Douglass: The Last Day of Slavery. Illus. by Cedric Lucas.
New York: Lee & Low, 1995.
•
Hopkinson, Deborah. Under the Quilt of Night. Illus. by James E. Ransome. New
York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001.
•
Schroeder, Alan. Minty: A Story of Harriet Tubman. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. New
York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1996.
Childhood Narratives of Slavery*
1. To begin this learning activity, have students write a brief journal entry on a
memorable event from their childhood.
2. Review the sections from Jacobs’s narrative in which she discusses the lives of slave
children. For example, pages 11–12); page 14 beginning “Such were the unusually
fortunate” to page 15 ending with ”born to be a chattel.”
3. Next provide students copies or electronic copies of excerpts from the following
narratives:
•
Frederick Douglass: Chapters I and II (to page 20), available at: http://
docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass55/douglass55.html
•
Olaudah Equiano: Volume One, page 5, pages 13–14; Volume One, Chapter Two,
pages 45–50, available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/equiano1/menu.html
•
Omar Said, page 792 beginning “I cannot write my life” to page 793 ending
with “Fayd-il,” available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/nc/omarsaid/menu.html
Note: You may also want to use excerpts from Jacobs (beginning on page 195 “The
Flight”) and Douglass (Second Part, Chapter One beginning on page 196 “Escape
From Slavery”) to compare and contrast how each planned their escape. More resources
are available in the Signet Classics teacher’s guide to The Narrative of the Life of Frederick
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Douglass at: http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pdf/teachersguides/narrative.pdf
4. Assign students to read one of the documents and to analyze it using the SCIM-C
method described above [S-summarizing, C-contextualizing, I-inferring, Mmonitoring, C-corroborating].
5. Allow students assigned to the same document to compare their analysis and to
make changes or additions.
6. As a whole class engage in a discussion about aspects of the students’ childhood and
those of slave children.
*Note: This lesson plan is available at: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/mmcglinn912004135
White Accounts of Slavery
Students can compare Harriet Jacobs’s account of slavery to the one written by Mary
Norcott Bryan, the daughter of a wealthy slave holder from New Bern, North Carolina.
Her narrative, “A Grandmother’s Recollections of Dixie” offers a sentimental account of
the antebellum south and criticism of Reconstruction.
Web-based resources:
•
Narrative of Mary Norcott Bryan is available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/
bryan/menu.html
•
The biography of Mary Norcott Bryan is available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/
bryan/summary.html
•
Note: Also see the full lesson plan comparing the narrative of Mary Norcott Bryan
to William Henry Singleton, a slave, at http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/twoperspectives-slavery.
Becoming Critical: Writing a Review of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
When Incidents was first published it received some attention from abolitionist
publications. Have students read book reviews written by Jacobs’s contemporaries and
then write their own book review of Incidents. Students might be encouraged to write as
if they were her contemporaries or from the perspective of today.
Book reviews can be found on-line at the follow sites:
•
Review in The Weekly Anglo-African April 13, 1861
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support6.html
•
William C. Nell's review in The Liberator, January 24, 1861
Available at http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support8.html
•
Review in National Anti-Slavery Standard, February 23, 1861
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support10.html
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Adolescent Novels on Slavery
Literature circles on adolescent novels on the subject of slavery can be created for a period
of two to four weeks. Students will have an opportunity to hear book talks (by the teacher
or media specialist) on the novels before making their choices after which the teacher will
set up the circles. Students will determine the pace of reading and the roles they will fulfill
for each meeting of the circle.
For teachers new to literature circles, there is information available on line at http://www.
literaturecircles.com and in books by Harvey Daniels, such as Literature Circles: Voice
and Choice in the Student-Centered Classroom.
The following adolescent novels deal with the subject of slavery:
•
Draper, Sharon. Copper Sun. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006.
•
Hansen, Joyce. The Captive. New York: Scholastic, 1994.
•
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton. New York: Scholastic, 2007.
•
Rinaldi, Ann. The Ever-After Bird. Orlando: Harcourt, 2007.
•
Brenaman, Miriam. Evvy’s Civil War. New York: Putnam, 2002.
•
Paulsen, Gary. Nightjohn. New York: Delacorte Press, 1993.
Comparisons to Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published in 1852 and is often
cited as a major cause in turning American opinion against slavery, especially the Fugitive
Slave Act, in antebellum U.S. According to Harriet Jacobs’s biographer, Jean Yellin,
Harriet attempted to gain Harriet Beecher Stowe’s support in publishing her narrative.
Eager to share her story, Jacobs was introduced to Stowe through the Anti-Slavery
Society. Upon learning that Stowe was soon to depart for England, Jacobs suggested that
Stowe allow Louisa to join her on a tour of England. Stowe rebuffed this request citing
that “it would be much care to her to take Louisa.” Adding insult to injury, Stowe
suggested she could include verifiable portions of Jacobs’s story in The Key to Uncle Tom’s
Cabin (Yellin, p. 121). Stowe’s rejection seems to have only temporarily stalled Jacob’s
attempts to publish her narrative. Rather, she stumbled across a copy of First Lady Julia
Tyler’s defense of slavery, “The Women of England vs. the Women of America,” in an old
newspaper. Outraged with the claims that most southern slaves are well-fed and clothed
and rarely separated from their families, Jacobs wrote a rebuttal account of slavery (Yellin,
p 122). She signed it “A Fugitive Slave” and sent it to the New York Tribune (see also
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support16.html).
Students could be encouraged to conduct background research on the biographies of
Stowe and Jacobs to compare and contrast their lives and perspectives. Additionally
students could compare the fictionalized account of slavery that Stowe presents to the
narrative presented by Jacobs.
Suggested resources:
•
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center
http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/index_home.shtml
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A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (full text)
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/STOWE/stowe.html
Harriet Jacobs as a Writer and Activist
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl was not the only text Harriet Jacobs wrote. Her
writings appeared both before and after the publication of Incidents. Suggestions for
bringing these resources into the classroom include making them available for students’
individual research or for more guided study. Students could identify themes that are
present throughout her writings, investigate the evolving nature of Harriet’s ideas and
literary style over time, compare her later writings to Incidents, examine Harriet’s work as
an activist, and compare her accounts of issues facing African Americans in the
antebellum versus post-Civil War periods.
Suggested resources:
Jacobs’s first retelling of her experiences:
• “Letter from a Fugitive Slave” New York Daily Tribune (June 21, 1853)
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support16.html
Jacobs describes her work in the post-war South:
• “From Savannah,” in The Freedmen's Record (January 1866). Available at: http://
docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support2.html
•
“Life Among the Contrabands,” in The Liberator (September 5, 1862). Available
at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support5.html
•
“Colored Refugees in Our Camps” The Liberator (April 10, 1863). Available at:
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support7.html
Jacobs’s views on School and the education of freed slaves
• “Letter from Teachers of the Freedmen,” in the National Anti-Slavery Standard
(April 16, 1864). Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support4.html
•
“Savannah Freedmen's Orphan Asylum.” Anti-Slavery Reporter March 2, 1868.
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support1.html
Accounts written by Harriet Jacobs’s daughter, Lousia Jacobs
• Lousia Jacobs’s report “From Savannah,” The Freedmen's Record, March 1866.
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support14.html
•
Lousia Jacobs’s report “From Savannah,” The Freedmen's Record, July 1866.
Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support13.html
Descriptions of Harriet Jacobs’ss work and experiences
from the Freedmen’s Record
• Description of Harriet’s work from The Freedmen's Record, February 1865. Available
at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support12.html
•
Report of Harriet Jacobs’s visit to Edenton, N.C., The Freedmen's Record, December
1865. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support11.html
•
Report of Harriet and Louisa Jacobs in Savannah, GA, The Freedmen's Record,
September 1866. Available at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support15.html
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Key Websites
•
African American History across North Carolina
http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/roundup.html
•
Biography of Harriet Jacobs from Documenting the American South (DocSouth)
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/menu.html
•
Biography of Harriet Jacobs from PBS
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2923.html
•
Discovery Education: Understanding Slavery
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/slavery/index.html
•
Explore Women’s History in North Carolina
http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/women_nc.html
•
Geography of Slavery in Virginia
http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/gos/
•
Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/
•
Slavery in America
http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_overview.htm
References
•
Andrews, W. (2004). Harriet A. Jacobs: A biography. Retrieved 5/28/2008 from
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/bio.html.
•
Lemon. A. (2004). Summary: Harriet A Jacobs: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Retrieved 5/28/2008 from http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/summary.html.
•
Lyons, M. E. (1992) Letters from a Slave Girl: The Story of Harriet Jacobs. New York:
Scribner.
•
Yellin, J. F. (2004). Harriet Jacobs: A Life. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
Professional Resources
•
Bolick, C.M. & McGlinn, M. (2004). Harriet Jacobs: Using on-line slave narratives
in the classroom. Social Education, 68(4), 198-202
•
McManus, J.M. (2008) A novel idea: Historical fiction in the social studies. Middle
Level Learning, 32, M8-M9.
•
“Overview of the SCIM-C Strategy.” Primary Source Learning. Library of Congress.
Retrieved from: http://www.primarysourcelearning.org/handbook/part4/ch9/
scimc_overview.shtml.
36
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
About the Author of this Guide
Meghan Manfra is an assistant professor in the College of Education at North
Carolina State University. Her research focuses on the integration of digital history in the
social studies. She has contributed to Social Education, Contemporary Issues in Technology
& Teacher Education, Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Social Studies
Research & Practice, The Social Studies, and The Clearing House. Dr. Manfra currently
serves as co-editor for the instructional technology section of Social Education. She is an
active member in the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the Association
for the Advancement of Computers in Education (AACE), and the American Educational
Research Association (AERA).
About the Editors of this Guide
Jeanne M. McGlinn, Professor in the Department of Education at the University of
North Carolina at Asheville, teaches Children's and Adolescent Literature and directs the
field experiences of 9-12 English licensure candidates. She is a Board member of NC
English Teachers Association and the Children’s Literature and Reading SIG of the IRA.
She has written extensively in the area of adolescent literature, including a critical book
on the historical fiction of adolescent writer Ann Rinaldi for Scarecrow Press Young Adult
Writers series.
James E. McGlinn, Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at
Asheville, teaches methods of teaching and reading courses. He has taught high school
English, and he is Past-President of the College Professors of Reading Special Interest
Council of the NC Reading Association. His research interests include study strategies for
online text and increasing the reading achievement of students in high school and college.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Harriet Jacobs's Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
37
F r ee T eac h e r ’ s G u i d es
A full list of Teacher’s Guides and Teacher’s Guides for the Signet
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